Dry itchy skin is one of the most common conditions affecting people. Although most people don’t consider it a serious problem, without treatment the scratching can lead to scarring and even infections. Plus, there’s no reason to keep suffering from dry skin irritation when you can find some excellent natural remedies that will help reduce those problems significantly. Below are the top five you should consider trying.

1. Adjust Your Bathing Ritual

You may not have known it but one of the biggest culprits of dry skin probably happens regularly behind your shower curtain: the hot bath. Hot water can suck any moisture right out of your skin and the warm droplets on your skin once you finish are going to evaporate faster because of their heat. Spending too much time in the shower can also cause excessive drying.
If you want your bath to stop damaging your skin, choose cool or lukewarm temperatures for the water. Try to keep your time under the water to only about 15 minutes or less, as well. Now if you do want to relax in a soothing bath, you can use warmer water but consider adding bath tablets or oatmeal to soothe your skin.

2. Treat Your Hands and Feet

Because dry skin hands and feet can be some of the most problematic to correct, prevention is going to be an important part of the cure. Apply a thick layer of moisturizer to your hands and/or feet then wrap in a plastic wrap or plastic bags. Cover the whole thing with socks and relax for 30 to 60 minutes. This is best done when you have time to relax so you can take the full time to let the moisture seep into your skin effectively. You can repeat as often as necessary.

3. Keep Air Moist

One of the main reasons itchy skin irritation is worse in the winter is the drier air in homes. Our heaters have a tendency to sap any moisture from the air and from our skin. The good news is you can easily replace that moisture with a humidifier. You can find these available at a number of price points to fit your budget, and you can run them throughout your home. Having one in your bedroom is very important though.

4. Replace Your Soaps and Beauty Products

Most of the soaps and beauty products on the product are not going to be helpful in your fight against dry skin. Many contain chemicals that will either cause dryness or irritation, especially to sensitive skin. Avoid bar soaps almost completely. Don’t use products that contain alcohol or that are labeled as astringents either. If you do regular facials, stay away from any products that contain clay. Instead, you want to look for products that contain extra moisturizers. Soaps made from glycerin are also a better choice. Keep products with added perfume and dyes to a minimum because these extra can be irritants.

5. Moisturize Damp Skin

One of the major misconceptions about improving dry skin is that you can actually add moisture to your skin. You can’t. You can only hold onto the moisture that’s there. To make moisturizers work more effectively, use them liberally while your skin is damp, such as after a shower or after you’ve washed your hands. If you hands start feeling a little dry, have a water bottle handy and give them a little spritz before you apply the hand lotion.

One Response to “5 Best Natural Remedies for Dry Itchy Skin”

1

Ojo Says:
My family and I could not understand why our skin was so dry through the winter until we realized that our wood stove was simply sucking all the moisture from the air. We added a pan of water to the top of the stove and while it helped we still needed additional moisturizers for our skin.April 7th, 2009 at 2:45 pm